Mississippi counts costs after deadly tornadoes

hey guys i thought i will would post this since both kadyn and cam live in mississppi where a tornado hit i guess on saturday and that is not good at all so please comment it back once u read it please and thank u Sun Apr 25, 3:42 pm ET

NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana (AFP) – Rescuers scoured wreckage in Mississippi Sunday for survivors of deadly tornadoes that tore through the southern US state, killing at least 10 people and destroying dozens of homes.

The National Guard fanned out across affected areas, using Humvees to reach hard-hit Yazoo County, nestled in hills that rise sharply out of the Mississippi Delta. Others surveyed the damage from Blackhawk helicopters.

Officials said three children aged three months, nine and 14 were among the dead in Choctaw County.

The toll could well mount as rescuers clear the debris from Saturday's storms, which tore roofs off buildings, reduced homes to splinters, overturned vehicles, downed power lines and toppled trees onto the roads.

Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour teared up as he described the damage in his hometown of Yazoo City.

"It reminds me of (Hurricane) Katrina," he said, describing the tornado as "enormous."

"By God's grace, it did not go into the central part of the city or the most populated areas," Barbour told reporters, although cautioning that some were still trapped inside their homes.

"There are a number of businesses that have been destroyed, others that have been severely damaged, there are churches that have been obliterated," Barbour said. "There are many, many homes that are damaged, some that are destroyed."

The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency has already counted nearly 200 homes damaged by the storm, and Barbour said at least 21 locals who sustained injuries had been ferried to nearby hospitals in helicopters or ambulances.

Survivors told dramatic stories of narrow escapes from tornadoes that were up to a mile (1.6 kilometers) wide and packed winds of nearly 165 miles per hour, according to meteorologists.

Sandra Grayson, who was sitting on her front porch just outside Yazoo City when she saw a tornado come tearing over a nearby hill, ran and hid inside her bathroom.

"I could hear all around me the trees twisting and swaying," she told The Clarion-Ledger newspaper. "I asked God to hug us because it was like you could just tell you were looking in the eyes of death."

The federal government and the American Red Cross dispatched rescue teams to the disaster zone.

Tarps, meals and water were being distributed as officials called for volunteers to help coordinate efforts in Yazoo City to remove fallen trees, splintered homes and other debris.

Electricity company Entergy said the tornado "caused widespread damage to Entergy facilities," leaving hundreds without power.

The storms began early Saturday in neighboring Louisiana, later cutting west to east across Mississippi, leaving a trail of death and destruction in their wake.

The severe weather also dumped hail the size of tennis balls in Mississippi's southern Lowndes County, according to the National Weather Service.

The storms stretched through a broad area from Missouri to the Florida Panhandle, causing more than two dozen twisters to develop in Louisiana, Arkansas and Alabama.

Counting the cost of the disaster would be a big challenge, Mississippi Emergency Management Agency spokesman Jeff Rent said.

how do u know they r ok kelsey??? and wow that is not good at all and yeah i know 10 people got killed that is not good at all but i am glad kadyn and cam r ok thanks goodness i was really worried about them but i did hear that the tornado hit where shayla lives so i just hope she is ok too

krazyinlovewithchad wrote:how do u know they r ok kelsey??? and wow that is not good at all and yeah i know 10 people got killed that is not good at all but i am glad kadyn and cam r ok thanks goodness i was really worried about them but i did hear that the tornado hit where shayla lives so i just hope she is ok too

I know cause I text and message Cam and Kad all the time and they told me. lol.

oh ok sorry i did not know that and that picture that kadyn send u that u posted on here well that is not good and wow what a tornado i heard i guess last friday or something that there was one again in missippi i forget now but this is why i never want to leave in tornado ally i am just happ to be living in canada where we also get some tornados in the summer but unlike the us where u guys get tornado like everyday well i am sorry to say this i am still happy i live in canada and not tornado ally and once again i am sorry to say that but it is true

no cam tornado's r deadly trust me cause in may 31 1985 (the same year jonny wexler was born) there was an f5 tornado that hit barrie ontario really badly and destory the barrie's race way and that is not good at all and how do i know this is because i they always talk about every year on tv. so that is why i am saying don;t ever say that u guys tornado's r not good they r really bad